When we consider many of the gospel topics for discussion, we can find in many instances that the use of the heart is often associated with action being taken by one's self. This may refer to having a broken heart and a contrite spirit which will lead us to repentance, or the turning of the hearts of the children to the father and the fathers to the children, or even the hearts of a people being knit together as one.
While we use these and many other aortic-related terms in gospel discussion, do we fully understand the implications of some of these terms? I contend that we do not, and even I discover more each day that deepens my understanding of the reason for using this specific organ so much in our gospel understanding.
There are four Scripture Mastery scriptures that really help to address my point this evening. For those that are keeping track, I will discuss Abraham 3:22-23; Doctrine and Covenants 8:2-3; Doctrine and Covenants 121:34-36, and Moses 7:18 in no particular order.
We understand the need for a broken heart and a contrite spirit as it relates to repentance and the need to have a changed heart to become like Christ, but these are not the angles I want to address at this time. Rather, I want to focus on a different angle - that being of maintenance and recognition, rather than the preparation and tempering that the other topics focus on.
Perhaps a good lead-in to my discussion is the rebuke of the Lord to Oliver Cowdery following his failed attempt to translate the plates. In the 9th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, in verses 7-9 we read the following passage:
7. Behold you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me. 8. But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. 9. But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me.
Note in the previous passage the pattern which must take place in order to obtain revelation and blessing from the Lord - first, one must study it out in their minds and then ask God, and if that thing is right, one's bosom (or heart) will burn confirming that action is correct. (Note, this is not the commonly-known heart-burn that one encounters when eating spicy food prior to retiring to their beds).
If we turn backwards to Section 8 of the Doctrine and Covenants we go to our first SM stop of the night where we read: "Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart. Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation;..." (emphasis added)
Note the repetition of the aforementioned pattern - that we would first be told in our minds (studying out in our minds) and then the Holy Ghost would confirm that in our hearts. Note a very important key in this passage however, that is that we are told in our hearts and our minds, but the Holy Ghost is made to dwell in our hearts.
Does anyone wonder ever why the Brethren of the Church speak so frequently about controlling the thoughts of our minds during their Conference addresses? Does anyone wonder why modesty, morality, pornography, mind-altering drugs, stress, anger, etc. are such big topics over the pulpit? I don't, because I believe that this scripture gives us the explanation for that.
If we compare our bodies to a car for a minute, perhaps we will better understand the meaning behind this. As many are familiar with, a car battery stores charged electricity inside of it for future use. This allows certain components of the car to run without the aid of the vehicle being turned all the way on. Should the battery become drained however, the ability of the car's many systems to function properly gradually gets dimmer and dimmer (this is what causes a battery to die when one leaves their lights on). The astute driver however, will make sure and get to their car and shut off the lights before they kill the battery, and then during the course of their travels, the alternator inside the car will recharge the battery from the residual power generation of the normal car functions.
Our hearts and minds are much like that, especially as it relates to this scripture. Our minds control our entire lives in all aspects. That said however, the presence of the Spirit dwelling in our hearts will provide the power for the critical components of our lives. The Spirit must be continually powered however, or as the scriptures state, it must dwell in a clean temple (the Spirit doth not dwell in unholy places). This is where the mastery over our minds must take place if we are to continually enjoy the accompanying power of the Spirit in our lives. If our minds are being altered by mind-numbing drugs, pornographic material, vulgar media, or those thoughts which would take our minds away from our purpose on earth and of the Lord's influence in our lives, then we are essentially leaving our hearts running with the Spirit with no power to it. It is at this time that there is little more time for the Spirit to power the essentials of our lives and eventually causes our hearts to die at which point the Spirit departs completely. Note that it is not our heart that has died of the effects of aging or due to some abnormality, but that our minds have become distracted to the point where the heart cannot get power from it.
The Lord's goal however is to establish a Zion-like people, which as the verse in chapter 7 of the book of Moses states, involves being of "one heart, and one mind." This state of utopia can only occur when the minds of the people are continually aligned towards righteousness, such that the Spirit is present within all and the community is working towards the greater good and the glorification of Christ.
Additionally, the governance of our minds is what allows us to do that work of the Lord. It is one thing to control one's own mind to the point that they are not partaking of the evil sins of the world, but it is another to fulfill our God-given responsibilities, especially those given us before we came to this life. The Lord spoke to Abraham in the 3rd Chapter and said: "Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these were many of the noble and great ones; and God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rules; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born."
The concept of being "chosen" may seem somewhat of a completely off-topic discussion, but we gain more understanding of its applicability to this subject when we enter into the fourth verse from the SM list in Doctrine and Covenants Section 121. These verses read: "Behold, there are many called, but few are chose. And why are they not chosen? Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson -- That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness." (emphasis added)
For many, it is their divine calling to do great things in this life, but as noted by this scripture here, they lose that calling and chosen status because they allow their hearts to be set towards the things of this world and the praises of their fellow men. Is this something that we see in the Church in our day? Is this something that we see in ourselves? I'm going to guess that most of us can answer "yes" to both of these unfortunately. Do we see the Relief Society President of a ward help a financially-struggling family because its her job and it will add "glory" to the position of Relief Society President? What about the home-teachers that begrudgingly do their home teaching on the last day of the month, simply to say that they got it done and to turn in the numbers for it? What about the struggling member that decides that they need only go to sacrament meeting because that's the "important meeting" and people will see them there, and then rushes home to catch the sports match on the television?
I submit that if we are to strive to become a Zion-like people that we must be more cognizant of the thoughts of our minds and their effects on our hearts, and concurrently govern ourselves accordingly. Some individuals may find that they struggle with some things more than others, and will need to do extra work in some areas that another individual needs only to recognize passively. If we govern the thoughts of our minds more fully, and encourage others to do the same and to keep the word of God written in our hearts, then we know that we will have the full measure of the Spirit that we all desperately need to have in our troubling times these days!
No comments:
Post a Comment